Mud Is Your Color
by avatarfan16
Summary: A look at the softer side of Toph. Toph is tired of looking like mud. She's tired of Aang not noticing her. And Aang's birthday is today, but Toph has a plan to confess her feelings to the airbedner. Will her plans succced or be dragged through the mu
1. A Nice Morning

1Mud Is Your Color

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last airbender.

Takes place after 'Tales of Ba Sing Se'. My first fanfic

Chapter 1 "Nice Morning"

On a cold morning in Ba Sing Se, sightless pale green eyes awoke from a long peaceful sleep. Those sightless eyes belonged to Toph Bei Fong the worlds greatest earthbender. Tossing the covers aside Toph sat up in her futon taking a deep inhale then slowly letting it go. Rubbing the last bit of sleep from her tired eyes she slowly stood up.

Toph then proceeded with her morning ritual, taking a stance she stomped her foot fairly hard letting the vibrations carry her real sight through all corners of the house. As the vibrations traveled outward she could feel three very familiar vibrations she knew to be Sokka's, Katara's, and Aang's. Toph always like d to know where her friends were in the morning. The vibrations telling her all was as it should be in the house and that all three were still sleeping as it was still very early. Toph proceeded into the bathroom.

Toph never looked in the bathroom mirror she wouldn't see anything anyway, but as most people got ready for the day there she simply did it out of habit. She didn't need a mirror all she did was put her up in her usual bun letting some bangs fall over her eyes. After her hair was set in place Toph left the bathroom and headed down the hall stopping at everyone's rooms as she did every morning to once again feel their vibrations. First came Sokka's room she lightly tapped her foot outside his door though she could ave tapped much harder. A rampaging herd of Platypus-Bears couldn't wake him. As the vibrations found his body she saw that he was still sleeping but she didn't need her special sight to tell her that, he was snoring loud enough for her to hear him from outside his room,

She moved on to Katara's room. Light tapping her foot again the vibrations glided silently along the floor until they came upon her body. The vibrations told her she was sleeping silently except for the slight moan that escaped her lips as she turned on her side. She left Katara to her sleep.

Toph tenses slightly as she came to Aang's room. Ever since the young earthbender realized those weird feelings she'd have when around the bald monk was love, she ad felt so awkward around the airbender. Luckily she was able to cover up her feelings well by drilling him extra hard during earthbending practice. She actually remembered the exact moment she realized she loved the little bonehead.

Flashback

It was sunset they had just landed Appa for the night and were setting up camp . Though Toph was barely focusing on what she was doing , for some reason she just kept her blind eyes on him. Tapping her foot every few seconds to see exactly what he was doing. Watching him intently as he started making the campfire she couldn't help but wonder what she was feeling as she watched him 'Why can't I stop staring at him, he's just making a stupid fire. Why is he so damn fascinating. And why does my chest feel funny'. She sighed. 'Maybe I'm sick or something... but that doesn't explain why I'm still staring at him'. As she pondered this, she remembered the stories her mother told her about how she felt when she first fell in love with her father. And that's when it hit her, harder than any rock had.

'Oh No' she thought. And then she did the first thing that came to mind. She screamed. And loud enough to reach the fire nation to. Everybody jumped at the loud scream dropped what they were doing and rushed over to her.

"Toph are you okay?". Katara asked in her worried mother-like voice. Toph simply stared at them unmoving dumbfounded at what she had done. She screamed like a little girl. "Toph is something the matter?", Aang asked with concern in his voice. The young earthbender turned her head toward him and stared, saying nothing. She could feel a blush start to rise in her cheeks as she remained silent staring intently at him with a weird look on her face.

"Toph?" he asked again. At the sound of her name she snapped back to reality and realized the situation she was in and how stupid she must look. So she did the first thing that came to mind again. She bolted. She made a mad dash to her earth tent then sliding on her belly into the tent itself. Then quickly closing the earth tent with an earth door. The two boys stood there with confused looks on their faces but Katara rushed towards Toph's tent coming to a halt at at the door.

Knocking softly asking her what was the matter. Toph remembered telling her some stupid story about stubbing her toe really badly and was nursing it in her tent. Still skeptical but satisfied with her answer Katara walked back towards the two still confused boys to tell them the story. A close call.

End Flashback

As she reminisced about that flashback she lightly tapped her foot feeling the vibrations find his body. Toph stood there awhile sending a few more vibrations his way letting them carom his body just wondering what was it about the young avatar that she liked so much. She thought about this several times mostly on the longer rides on Appa's back. Appa. They still hadn't located the flying fluff ball yet. But they were still optimistic they would find him in Ba Sing Se.

She ceased her foot tapping and smiled slightly as she remembered what today was. Aang's birthday. This wonderful news was first brought to her attention a week ago by Katara. While Aang and Sokka were out grocery shopping one day, Katara told Toph the whole story on how they wanted to throw a small surprise party for him. Toph pretended not to care, but she was already forming a plan to confess her feelings for the airbender. But more on that later. She left the hallway and entered the kitchen. Once there she opened the cupboard and took out a teg packet. Yes tea, ever since her encounter with the old tea man, Toph had developed quite a liking to the hot brew.

She had had tea before in her old life but not like the old man's, his was absolutely delicious. Since then she has tried making it herself but none of her tea was nearly as good as the old man's but she was getting better. She put the water on the stove to boil. In five minutes the kettle started to whistle and she quickly took the kettle off the stove not wanting to wake the others.

She poured the hot water into the tea pot along with the tea bag and waited for the two to mix. When she felt enough time had passed for the tea to be ready she slowly poured the tea into her cup. Once done she walked to the front door still in her sleeping clothes; an oversized shirt and baggy shorts slowly opened the door careful not to spill the tea in her other hand, and stepped outside into the cold morning air and slowly closed the door behind her so not to make any noise.

This was the time of day Toph loved the most. It was the time of day when it was til dark out but there was enough light that one could see very well without trying. She loved it for more or less the same reason. It was perhaps five o'clock in the morning. Taking another deep breath of cold air she stepped further out onto the porch and sat down the stone steps of the porch.

Sipping her tea she planted both feet on the ground and became tapping her feet in an almost musical way. She loved this time of day because it was very easy for her to 'see' so to speak. No one was out at this time of day so every tap of her foot sent her sight much farther than it would in the crowded afternoon. She felt she could see best during this special time of the morning.

This was Toph's personal time and she wouldn't allow anyone to ruin it for her. Just her on a quiet peaceful morning with a hot cup of tea, she did this every morning at the same time see loved the particular vibrations that came from the empty streets of the city, aswell as the cold bracing air. Toph mostly spent mornings like these thinking of the various things on her mind.

And nowadays Aang was on her mind most of the time. The airbender had a permanent place in her thoughts and heart. But Aang wasn't the only thing she thought about. After another sip of tea her thoughts went to the kind old tea man. He was such a funny man, more than that he treated her like an equal when not a helpless blind girl like most people did. Strange... so did Aang. She sat there on the stone porch for several long minutes enjoying her tea, her special vibrations, and her morning. Once every few minutes she would tap her footto see if her friends had woken up yet.

She had just finished her first cup when she tapped her foot yet again and saw that Sokka's and Katara's vibrations had moved from their beds and were perparing for the day in their own personal bathrooms. Toph took yet another relaxing breath of cold refreshing air and stood up from the porch. She tapped her foot one last time before going in hoping that one day she would be able to share her special mornings with Aang one day. "Well... one day" she said with a small sigh.

Toph then proceeded toward the door again and enter the house to meet her friends for breakfast and perhaps have another cup of tea. As she walked toward the kitchen with a small smile on her face at the thought of what a good day today was going to be she smiled and thought. 'What a nice morning'.

**I just finished the first chapter 11:17 PM **


	2. Breakfast Reminders

1Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last airbender

Chapter 2: Breakfast Reminders

Breakfast was an ordinary thing in the avatar household even if it was shared by the most extraordinary group of people. Those people being Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph. Toph stood at the stove over a hot pot of jook she was making for herself. She considered making enough for everyone, but everyone had such different tastes.

Sokka would most likely want meat for breakfast, his food of choice for every meal. Katara would probably would graciously accept if Toph made her breakfast; but Katara enjoyed cooking herself she once told her that cooking relaxed her which is why she volunteered to make most of the meals. And Toph believed her she noticed that Katara's vibrations were much more vibrant when cooking. And Aang, being a monk who couldn't eat meat and lived on a diet of fruits, nuts, and vegetables there wasn't much she could do. But still after scooping a big bowl for herself she left enough on the bottom of the pot for anyone to taste if they wished.

It was about that time Katara entered the kitchen herself. Toph had just poured herself another cup of tea for herself when she noticed that Katara was staring at her. Toph turned toward her and said "something the matter sugar queen or you just never seen a blind girl make breakfast before" sounding harsher than she had meant it. Katara shook her head "No" she said sounding a little embarrassed. "I just noticed that something smells really good, what is that?" she said pointing to Toph's cup.

"It's tea what does it look like" the earthbender stated simply. "May I try some?" she asked politely holding her cup out. Without saying a word Toph picked up the kettle and poured some tea into Katara's cup. "Thank you Toph I'm going to enjoy this at the table". And with that she turned and left the kitchen and headed straight toward the living room which also served as a dining room. Toph quickly gathered her bowl of jook in one hand and the cup of tea in the other and followed Katara to the table.

She arrived to find at the table to find Sokka scarfing meat and Katara sipping the tea Toph had made. Aang she guessed was still asleep in his bed. As she set the jook and tea down on the table and took a seat down on the floor she felt Momo leap into her lap and snuggle into her body. Toph and Momo's relationship had be en a fun one from the start. Momo was like the pet she never had. Toph had never been allowed a pet by her parents, telling her that animals were too dangerous for her. Even the smallest softest animals were were deemed a threat to their blind defenseless daughter. So to her Momo was special. "Hey Momo what's up?" she asked as she scratched behind the lemurs ears. A gentle purring sound was his reply.

She then began to eat the breakfast before her, occasionally taking long slow sips of tea and letting Momo eat the bits of food that had fallen on the floor. Suddenly Katar spoke up. "Toph this tea is wonderful, I had not idea you were such a tea genius". "I'm not" she replied. "It's just ordinary tea nothing special, anyone could do it". She smiled inwardly, but she doubted anyone could make better tea than the old mans. "Don't be so modest, I could never make something this good in a millions years, Sokka you haft to try some of this".

She held the cup out to her brother who was still engaged in the act of eating his weight in meat. Through the mouthful of meet he simply said "Can't drink meat too tasty". Katara sighed. "Typical Sokka; alright then suit yourself" She then went back to drinking Toph's wonderful tea. Several long minutes passed before she spoke again. "Since Aang isn't here yet I think now would be a good time to talk about the surprise party". Toph stopped drinking her tea and turned toward Katar so she could give Katara her full attention, and even Sokka stoped his meat gorging to listen in on the plans. Toph had plans too; this would be the night when she told Aang exactly how she felt about the little airbender, but she still listened to Katara's to see where her plans could fit into the whole scheme.

"Sokka your job is to keep Aang out of the house today while we prepare for the party. Take him to the zoo or some place nice to eat. Just keep him busy and bring him backk around sunset". Sokka merely shrugged and said "Sure I can take him out to eat on a little men only outing for some meat splurging". By the end of his sentence he was practically drooling ver the prospect of more meat. Katara had a sour look upon her face and said in a slightly raised voice. "No meat, the last time you gave him meat he was sick for three days and and he doesn't need to be sick on his birthday. Take him someplace he wants to go, okay".

Sokka pouted and after mumbling for a few seconds the word "Fine" was distinguishable. "Okay then, Toph and I will stay home and bake the cake and put up decorations then-" but before Katar could continue Sokka's loud voice cut in. "Hey, Aangs over a hundred years old how are we going to fit all those candles on the cake". The waterbender heaved and exasperating sigh and shook her head. "We're not counting the years he was stuck in the iceberg; just the years before then" she explained. "Whatever" was his response and he went back to eating his precious meat.

Katara continued. "As I was saying he's blown out his candles I think we should then give him his presents we all got him something right?". 'Presents' Toph thought. Damn it how could she be so stupid she told herself. "I was so caught up with my plans I forgot to get him something; Damn it". Now that she thought about it, the present wasn't the only problem.

She was always covered in mud or dirt, what would Aang thin if she confessed her love for him looking like some muddy hog-monkey. Toph had no idea what she looked liked. Katara told her she looked pretty once but did Aang think so too. This was bad. She needed a new plan. Toph casually left the table and scurried back to her room to think of another plan. She was so preoccupied that she didn't see a certain airbender's vibrations coming closer and closer until she collided with him in the hallway.

Both of them made an "Umph" sound as they both hit the floor. Aang was the first to recover and say something. "Sorry Toph I didn't see you there" he apologized as he lifted himself up with his airbending. He then outstretched his hand for her to take. As she took his hand and pulled herself up from the floor she started to say "Why don't you watch where your going Twinkletoes". "Sorry" he said again. "It's fine but if you want to be and earthbender you have to be aware at all times and be rock like at all times and never get knocked down". As she said this she ignored the fact that she had been caught off guard and fell down as well.

"Thank you Toph I will keep that in mind" he bowed and continued down the hall. But before he could get far she grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"Hey Aang" She asked.

"Yes Toph"

She opened her mouth to say something but decided against saying anything now. Tonight she would tell him everything.

"Never mind, forget it".

"You sure?".

"Yeah I'm sure sorry to bother you". She released his wrist.

"Okay then, see you" . He then left the hallway into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself. Toph then walked into her room to put on her usual green and yellow clothes on. As she did so she couldn't help but think about what he had said to her. 'Didn't see you there Toph' he had said. Aang never saw her; not really she thought. Which was why today was so important to her. Today Aang would see her, he would notice her, and perhaps just maybe something more. But first she need to get rid of all this mud and get this plan straight.

The blind earthbender then paced her room for several long minutes every now and again tapping her foot just cause. As she paced her step kicked up little clouds of dirt and dust around her ankles. Finally after close to a half an hour of pacing she got an idea. "PERFECT!" she exclaimed. With a determined look on her face Toph marched out of her room down the hall and into the living room.

Her 'sight' told her Aang and Sokka were no longer in the house they probably had left for their day out together. She could sense Katara in the kitchen already working on Aang's cake she entered the kitchen. "Katara" she said. "Yeah Toph". "I have to go out for a little bit but I'll be back for the party". "Alright that's fine I can take care of this here" she said pouring mix into a large bowl. "Remember the party's at sunset don't forget". "I know I just to do something really quickly I'll be back in time". Toph laughed inwardly. She had quite a surprise for them and especially Aang.

And with that Toph opened the front door widely and stepped into the sunlight feeling her feet start to warm up as she stood on the warm concrete. The young earthbender jumped off the front porch and over the steps she sat on this morning with her tea and was on her way into the bright day and the busy streets of Ba Sing Se with a small smile on her face.

**Chapter two just finished. Exactly 11:45 PM**


	3. Spa Day

1Disclaimer: I don not own Avatar the last airbender

Chapter 3 : Spa Day

Toph soon made it from the residential area of the upper ring to the very heart of the city. The place Toph needed to go was still far away but she had plenty of time, it wasn't even noon yet. Toph could have just as easily taken the trains as they are free but she preferred walking, call it an earthbender thing but she loved the feel of the ground beneath her feet. It wasn't because she needed the groung to see, but all earthbenders love the feel of dirt beneath them.

That's why most earthbender's went barefoot all the time and Toph was no different. Besides trains were to dull. She liked to move around herself, it made her feel free not like her old life where she was practically carried every place by servants. The streets were very busy that day but the blind girl had no trouble maneuvering through the crowds. By sensing their vibrations Toph could easily see all the people around her having no trouble avoiding the on coming crowd and not bump into the many people occupying the streets.

Right now Toph needed to go north, and had no problem finding the direction. Most people needed a compass or see the positions of the stars to tell where north was but Toph always knew where north was. She couldn't explain why, but she always knew where north was. She had wondered about this quite often, wondering if the reason was because she was an earthbender, or perhaps because of her blindness. Or maybe it was a strange combination of the two.

After a while of walking north she turned into a less crowded area, she was very close now. She picked up her pace as she neared her destination and wanted to get there as soon a possible. She turned yet another corner and found the place she had been looking for. "Finally she said. Close to an hour of walking and she had arrived at her destination.

The Fancy Lady Day Spa.

"I just hope they can help me" she said as she started to ascend the stones steps of the building. When she had gone here with Katara they had succeeded in removing a most of the dirt from her body. It was also they day Katara hold called her pretty, she also felt very girly afterward which is what she wanted to be now. To be a dirt-free so Aang would finally notice her and call her pretty too.

But as Toph continued to climb steps she remembered what those girls had said to her. 'Nice makeup for a clown'. Their evil shrill laughter still made her uneasy. Maybe this place did make her look like a clown. Maybe Katara told her she looked pretty because she didn't want to hurt her feelings. Toph stooped in her tracks. Looking like a clown was just as bad as being being all dirty. Thoughts of Aang laughing at her face filled her thoughts as the sound of those girls laughter rang so loud in her thought she almost thought they were standing next to her. The earth bender began panicking.

"No" she thought. She quickly closed her eyes, covered her ears, and began shaking her head vigorously shaking all the bad thoughts out of her head. "This will work" she aloud to herself. Toph had to believe this would work, it would if she believed enough and tried hard enough. Taking a breath of confidence she resumed her march up the steps to the large wooden doors. When she reached the top of the steps the earthbender couldn't help but sigh. Toph didn't really hate this kind of thing. But on the other hand she didn't really love it either. But if this place could make her beautiful and finally wash away all the mud she would put up with it; at least for today.

She reached the door and pulled on the handle but the door wouldn't move. She pulled harder; still nothing happened. Suddenly she realized what was happening as dread spread throughout her body. The spa was closed. 'It couldn't be closed today it just can't be'. She quickly took another stance and stamped her foot down hard as she had done earlier in the apartment. The vibrations spread throughout the spa, but the vibrations told her no one was in the building.

"No, no, no" she kept saying. "It can't be closed; this is the only spa in the upper ring it can't be closed today OPEN UP!". This was bad she didn't have time to find another spa in the other rings of the city. Toph started banging her fists against the doors. "Hello is anyone there open up; please" she said in futility she knew no one was there. After banging the door with her fists Toph was on the verge of crying. She hit the door one last time ready to give up and go home; when she did she noticed words carved into the door.

Curious to what words were carved into the door she slowly traced the writing with her fingertips. When she realized what the writing said she let out a breath she didn't know she held as sweet relief swept over her body. She was so relieved she almost started laughing right there on the spot. The sign read in fancy letters.

_fancy lady day spa_

_open_

_Monday-Sunday Noon to Sunset_

It wasn't closed, 'Thank goodness' she thought. It just wasn't open yet. 'No problem' she thought. 'I'll just sit here until it opens'. She descended the steps still so relieved and sat down on the bottom steps of the spa feeling peoples vibrations as they walked by.

Several couples walked by and every time they did Toph would feel a little envious of them. Wishing she could do those things with Aang like holding hands, laughing, and maybe... Kiss. She blushed at the thought of kissing Aang. But she had dreamt of doing so for so long and grew excited at the thought of doing so tonight after she confessed to the young avatar.

She had spent a lot of time thinking about what that first kiss with Aang would be like. She always imaged doing so in beautiful place after telling one another that they loved each other.

After a while of sitting on those steps dreaming of her first kiss with Aang, Toph slowly drifted off to sleep on the steps of the spa. Toph didn't know how long she had slept, all she remembered was someone nudging her awake; it was a young woman.

"Excuse me miss" she said in a soft voice. "May I help you?" she asked. "I'm just waiting for the spa to open" Toph said as she stood up from the steps stretching her back. "Well you're in luck young lady" she said with a warm smile.

"I was just about to open up, are you here for a spa day".

"Yes" Toph said excitedly. "But I don't have much time".

"Well then let's hurry".

And the young would proceeded up the steps with Toph following close behind. When they reached the door the young lady drew the key from her robes and unlock the giants doors pushing them open, she walked inside; so did Toph. "Follow me to the reception desk please and we'll get you taken care of" the lady said politely. The lady stepped behind the reception desk and took out a large book from beneath the desk. "Now what would you like done today?" she asked Toph as she flipped to an empty page in the book then taking out a brush.

"Uhhh" Toph stuttered. She didn't know much about beauty stuff. She didn't know what she wanted done she just wanted to look beautiful. But luckily she had an idea and her secret weapon. "But first I'll need your name miss" the receptionist said . Toph reached into her pocket and took out her secret weapon. In a loud clear voice she answered. "My name is Toph Bei Fong and I'm not exactly sure what I want done I'm afraid, what would you suggest". She said all this in one long sentence as she placed her family's golden seal on the desk. Her reaction was almost immediate. "It is an honor to have such a high born lady as our guest don't worry we'll take care of everything and give you our best care".

The receptionist lady clapped twice as three female employee's seemed seem to appear out of nowhere. 'Wow' thought said inward. 'I didn't even fell them approach... this place is good'. The receptionist spoke to them. "This is a very special guest . Please make sure she is comfortable and give her your best care". She turned to Toph. "These are our finest employee's you're in good hands".

One employee stepped forward, bowed and said "Please follow me miss and we'll get started right away". The other two girls then ushered down a hall as the first employee led the way. They stopped at a door att the end of the hall one of the people ushering her spoke. "I thought we'd start you off with a bath, it's already prepared for you so take as long as you want we'll be right outside if you need anything so please don't hesitate to ask".

Toph nodded an entered through the wooden door and found herself in a small changing room. It was made of wood she noticed for she had slight difficulty seeing, for wood did not make as many vibrations as stone did. Still she could see fairly well, nothing serious. She noticed a pile of towels in the corner. Discarding her clothes and taking out her hair band letting her dark hair down from her usual bun and letting it fall past her shoulders, she quickly took a towel put it under her arm then entered the next bathroom. The one with the actual bath.

This room however was made entirely out of stone. Some sort of marble she guessed as she slid her foot across the smooth stone floor. The bath if you could call it that was quite impressive, it was roughly the size of a small swimming pool, it was circular in shape and made from more marble.

Careful not to slip Toph set her towel on the side of the tub and dipped her toes into the water. The temperature was perfect and the water had sweet smelling oils mixed with it. She slowly slipped into the warm bath. "Ahhh" she said with content. It was the nicest bath she had ever been in, she let the hot water soothe were tired muscles. After getting settled Toph felt along the sides of the tub she found a bar of soap and quickly went to work.

She started scrubbing her body vigorously with the bar of soap. She took her time scrubbing every mud caked part of her body, her feet were especially dirty, but what did you expect from walking barefoot all day. After she had worked up a nice lather on her body. Toph smiled and said "Well, good-bye mud" . She held her nose and dunked her whole body under water slowly letting all the mud and dirt separate themselves from her body. After a few seconds she popped her head above the surface taking deep breaths of air.

She couldn't believe it. She was clean. She was actually clean. It didn't feel right at first but brushed it off thinking it was just because she wasn't used to being so clean. She smiled, she was finally dirt free. Toph wanted to spend more time in the tub to relax but if she wanted to be home in time for the party she had to move fast. She stood up and quickly wrapped the towel around her body.

After drying off she went back to the dressing room to find a robe and a pair of slippers waiting for her. She threw her towel and the corner and put on the silk robe. She put on the robe but left the slippers. She was an earth bender so she loved the feel of the ground; plus she needed her feet to see and shoes just impaired her 'sight'. She stepped outside the changing room to find the same three employees's waiting for her. One of them stepped forward"If you'll step right this way miss we can begin fixing you up". She was once again ushered to yet another room where other employee's were busy with other customers.

They sat in her down in a big cushy chair and began fussing over her. One girl began brushing Toph's hair repeatedly getting all the knots out. At first Toph thought she was trying to pull her hair out. Another girl had seized her feet and was already busy giving her a pedicure. The last girl had begun to put make up on her face. All this was happening way to fast for the earthbender, and she really hated people touching her feet but she beared with it and resisted the urge to earthbend them all through he wall as she had done before.

Once all the tangles had been combed out of her hair the employee started to style Toph's hair into an elegant bun not unlike her usual one but the stylist kept all of Toph's bangs out of her eyes. The nail girl had moved onto the other foot by this time and the makeup lady said she was almost done. Finally once all three girls had finished their job Toph let out a big breath and stood up. She thanked each of the ladies and turned to leave but before could one of the girls called out.

"Wait miss". Toph stopped and turned around. The girl continued, "The manager told us you were a special guest and wanted to give you this gift for as a thank you for using our spa. The girl left and returned a few minutes later with a beautiful forest green kimono which she handed to Toph. Toph fingered the delicate silk material which the dress was made of. "Wow" the earthbender was stunned.

"Thank you very much, but are you sure you want me to have it?" she asked. "Yes" the girl replied. "The manager was very clear she wanted you to have it". Toph didn't know what to say. "Thank you very much"she said again and Toph bowed to the three ladies which they returned, and then went to change. She came out five minutes later wearing the lovely kimono, her old clothes she had placed in a bag. The kimono had fit her perfectly and made her feel girly. 'Good' she thought. 'That's what I was going for'.

She then headed to the front desk to pay for day at the spa and to thank her for the new kimono. "Thank you for the spa day ma'am" she said as she placed three gold pieces on the counter.

"You're quite welcome, and that kimono looks lovely on you I hope you like it".

"I love it, but why did you give it to me?".

"You just remind me of me when I was younger".

"But are you sure you want me to have it?".

"As sure as anything it's a very special kimono and I thought you should have it?"

"Why is it so special".

"Because all the girls who have worn that kimono have had good things happen to them".

"So it's a lucky kimono?".

"No, I wouldn't say that; but I think it's knows what you truly want on the inside and it merely helps you along the way".

"I don't get it, what does that mean?".

"I think you'll find out soon enough, just wait and see" the lady smiled.

Toph still didn't understand but she bowed to the lady and thanked her as she turned and left. She descended the steps of the spa feeling refreshed and better than she felt in a long time. "Now" the blind girl said. "All I need is find the right gift to give him and I can go home". She quickly made her toward the shopping center of the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, hopeful she would find a great gift that the Aang would love.


	4. Aang's Gift

1Disclaimer: I do not own avatar the last airbender

Chapter 4: Aang's Gift

The shopping district of Ba Sing Se if at all possible, were even more crowded than it's streets. Everywhere there were people shopping, looking for bargains and sales. Mothers were shopping for groceries, looking at the various fruits and vegetables. Schools of young girls gazed longingly at the beautiful kimono's on display. And several child ran through the streets, stopping occasionally to look at the new toys for sale.

Toph walked in the over crowded walkways of the shopping district in her new kimono. Completely oblivious to the many stares she was receiving from the boys in the area, in fact they were so transfixed with the strange beautiful girl that many of them forgot to look where they were going, and ended up bumping into a wall. The earthbender walked through the streets of the shop center in hopes of finding the perfect gift for Aang.

Even though Toph couldn't see the various objects on display, she had no trouble figuring out what was being sold at each booth. Each booth had a barker calling out to passers-by, soliciting in a loud voice for people to come and see their fine products. She listened carefully.

"Lovely kimono's for sale!"

"Fresh imported meat, only two silver pieces a pound!"

"Take a look into the mystery box, only three copper pieces!"

"Cabbages for sale, get your cabbages here!"

Toph sighed. "This is going to be harder than I thought". All this stuff didn't sound like a good gift idea. If she didn't find a good gift soon she wouldn't be back in time for the party. Speaking of time, 'How much time do I have' she thought. She knew Katara said the party was at sunset, and she knew that the spa hadn't opened until noon, but she didn't know how long all that beauty stuff took. Toph stopped for a moment.

Most people could tell what time it was by the position of the sun. But since Toph couldn't actually look at the sun, she found her own way of telling time. Instead of looking at the sun, she felt it. Facing north yet again, Toph started feeling the sun's warmth on her body. She felt most of the sun's rays on her left shoulder, meaning it was past noon and was about two o'clock. By feeling where the sun was on her body Toph could tell it's position in the sky.

And she knew the sun didn't set for another few hours. 'I have plenty of time' she told her self, and the blind earthbender resumed her search for Aang's birthday present. But as she said before, this would be harder than she thought.

Toph walked around the district for what felt like the hundredth time. And still she found nothing of particular interest, or anything that she might have thought Aang would like. Having walked around walked around the whole shopping district several times, her feet grew tired and sore. "I need to sit down" she said feeling exhausted. Remembering having found a bench a little while back, she made her way back toward the bench to rest a while and plan what to do next. Toph found the bench and practically collapsed on it.

She was tired, both mentally and physically, it had been a long day. More importantly, she still hadn't found a gift for Aang yet. She closed her eyes and once again felt for the position of the sun's warmth. This time she noticed, the sun's rays had traveled further down her shoulder and came to rest on her upper arm, almost touching her elbow. If she didn't find anything soon she would have to return home empty handed. She needed to rest just a bit longer.

Toph sat on the bench, slowly gathering her strength and planning her next move. Just then two girls sat down on the other end of the bench where Toph sat. One girl said to the other.

"Where did you get that cute little bracelet?"

"I got it at that new shop, isn't it just adorable?"

"It is, do they have another like it?"

"Sure, they have tons of stuff in fact, they have just about everything, I could take you there if you like".

It was then Toph spoke up. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where this shop is?". "Sure" the girl replied. "You go down this street, take a right, then take the you second left, and it's right there you can't miss it". "Thank you" Toph said as she stood up for the bench and went in the direction the girl pointed to. "No problem, I hope you find it" the girl called after Toph. Toph walked down the street with a smile on her face, because she now had an idea of where to find a present for Aang. 'If that booth has everything, then maybe they have something Aang would like' she thought gleefully. The earthbender wondered what kind of things the store sold, hopeful she could find something he would love.

But as Toph rounded the corner the first corner she came upon something awful. Four boys were gathered around a smaller boy, the older boys were knocking him down and laughing at him. She heard them say. Come on, you want this back, jump for it, come on jump" the boy said as he dangled a bag just beyond the smaller boys reach. The small boy made a desperate reach for the bag, but it was yanked away before he could close his fingers around it. The boys kept teasing him. "What's a matter, can't reach your bag, does baby want his bag back?" the boys teased in a mock baby voice.

Toph couldn't stand there any longer, she approached the boys. "HEY!, leave him alone" she shouted. The boys turned to look at her, one of them said, "This is none of your business, get out of here girly". "I'm making it my business" she said as she took another step toward the boys. "Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?" one of them said. "This" was her answer. Planting her feet firmly on the ground, and with a swift motion of her arms, several small rocks lifted themselves off the ground and hurled themselves at the boys.

The boys covered their heads and ran away, from the oncoming barrage of of Pebbles hitting them. Toph then walked over to the boy who was crying now, he couldn't have been more than seven or eight.

"It's okay now, they're gone" she said.

"No it's not okay" the boy said shaking his head shedding more tears.

"They took it" he cried.

"Took what?".

"The gift my friend gave me".

They took it".

"Yeah my friend, she gave my a gift for my birthday last week and now they stole it".

The boy grew so sad and so frustrated that he punched the ground in agony. But Toph was surprised to feel the ground crack beneath his fist. "Wait a minute you're an earthbender too?". The boy sniffed and wiped some tears from his eyes, "Yeah, so what". Toph smacked him upside his head.

"So, why didn't you do anything to defend yourself?, what's wrong with you?".

"Well, it's because I'm not very good at it. Every time I earthbend I just make a fool of my self".

"That's no reason to let idiots like them push you around"

"That's easy for you to say, you're good"

"Listen, I'll teach you a move that will get rid of jerks that any day, on two conditions".

"What are they?".

"From now on you have to work hard to become a great earthbender, if your not then you'll be a disgrace to all earthbenders. And two, you don't people like that pick on you anymore, okay?".

"Okay"

"Good, now stand up and copy what I do"

The little boy did as he was instructed and stood next to Toph. "Now the key to this move and pretty much all earthbending falls und under this one rule". "Rock-like" she said. "Rock what?" the boy asked confused. "ROCK-LIKE!" she shouted, the boy snapped to attention. "That's it" Toph said. Being steady like a rock, virtually unmovable if you follow this rule earthbending will never let you down". The boy smile widely at her, "Really?". "Yes really, now I'll show the move". Careful not to get her kimono dirty, Toph grabbed a fistful of her kimono and raised the hem of the dress to her knees. Toph then raised her foot, the boy followed suit.

Toph then brought her heel crashing down to the earth with a satisfying boom. Instantly the ground in front of her cracked and splintered, sending rocks, dirt, and dust flying everywhere. "Now you try" she said and backed away to give him some space. The boy took a deep breath and brought his heel down as Toph had done, and the ground cracked like Toph's move had done, but on a smaller scale. But the kid did it. "Good job, you got it perfectly" Toph congratulated the boy. "I couldn't have done it without you, thank you" the boy said, then bowed. "No problem, we earthbenders look out for each other I've got to go now now but remember, rock-like" she said and began to walk down the street once more. "I will, thank you" he waved goodbye. He then took off running the opposite way, he had to get his gift back. And he did.

Toph smiled to herself, it felt good to help a fellow earthbender. She took the second left and found the booth, just where the girl said it would be. She approached the booth, and man walked up to her. "Can I help you little lady?" he asked. He had a kind voice and a thick grey beard. "Well I'm looking for a gift for my friend, but I don't know what to get him, so I was wondering if their was anything here he might like". Toph explained to hm. "Well, you've come to the write place, I'm sure you could find a gift for your friend".

"That's what I'm hoping for" she said. "So tell me, what kind of things does your friend like?" he asked. Toph thought for a moment, 'Well, there's flying, leechy nuts, his air scooter, animals'. "I know he really likes animals" she told the man. And they really liked him, she remembered when they were still camping, when Aang wasn't practicing bending he played with all the local animals.

"Hmmm" the man said as she rubbed his chin. "I have just the thing" he exclaimed. He withdrew a box from beneath the booth and opened it for her. Inside were tiny ceramic animals, made from very nice clay and painted beautifully with bright vibrant colors. There were little koi painted with more colors than a rainbow, birds so realistic, one might think they would fly of any second, and many others. "These are really nice" The earthbender commented, feeling the smooth texture of the little sculpture. "What kind of animals does he like?" the man asked.

"Well... one's that fly" she told him. "I do happen to have some very nice ceramic birds if your interested". Birds were nice, but Toph just thought of something else. 'I wonder' she thought. "Excuse me, but do you perhaps have any sky bison?" she asked him. "Ahhh" he said. "Those are very popular right now, I just started making them recently is your friend a fan of the sky bisons?". Toph tried to conceal her laughter, "Yeah...You could say that".

He reached in the box and pulled out a small ceramic bison, he then gently placed it in Toph's palm. Holding the bison with one hand, she gently felt the outline of the little clay animal. It was just like the real Appa, down to the last detail, she had ridden on top of Appa enough times to know that it was a perfect replica.

"I'll take it" she said. "Glad to hear it" the man replied. Toph paid him eight copper pieces, and he placed it in a paper bag for her, she thanked him and left waving goodbye as she did so. "Come again" he called.

Clutching the bag to her chest, Toph began the long walk home to where the party was being held. Finally, her mission was complete, she had gotten rid of the mud and had found Aang the perfect gift. She smiled as she walked along the busy streets yet again, taking the familiar route back to the house. "Nothing could run this day" she said to herself. She had accomplished everything she had set out to do. She remembered the kimono she was wearing, maybe this is what the lady meant when good things would happen. Although that didn't explain what she had sad about the kimono knowing what she truly wanted. But she would think about that later, right know things were looking up.

As she walked back toward's the house, she was so happy that she was barely looking where she was going. All she could think about was how nice tonight was going to be, and how she would finally admit her feelings the young airbender. She was so caught up in her romantic fantasy that she accidently bumped into another person. "I'm sorry sir I" she stopped. She recognized those vibrations. At first she thought she made a mistake, but she was sure those vibrations were his. But it couldn't be, could it?

"Tea man?".

**Just finished chapter 4. 1:38 A.M.**


	5. Good Heart

1Disclaimer: I do not own avatar the last airbender

Ch 5: Good Heart

"Tea man"

"Well, well, I wasn't expecting to meet any old friends today, though I am always glad to"

"It IS you" Toph exclaimed. She then leapt into the old generals arms, giving him the biggest hug she could. The old man just chuckled and returned the hug. "I'm lad your okay" Toph said as she withdrew from her hug. The old man smiled, "You know us old folks, you can't get rid of us no matter how much lightning you shoot at us". Both Toph and the old man laughed at the little joke.

"It's really good to see you" she told him, relieved he was okay. "Same here, it's always good to see a friendly face". "It truly is" Toph agreed. "You surprised me at first" he told her. "I didn't recognize you in that kimono, it's quite different from what you wore in our last encounter". The earthbender blushed a little. "Well... it's a long story" she explained. "We seem to have a lot of catching up to do, why don't you follow me and we can have some more tea. Perhaps if you're interested, you can tell me this long story". He continued, "I'd very much like to hear it".

Toph frowned a little. "...Oh... I don't know" she said sadly. She didn't want to miss Aang's surprise party. She faced north and checked for the position of the sun. Soon she felt the sun's heat come to rest on her forearm. Toph knew that it was sunset when the sun's ray's descended to her waist. Though sunset was still two hours away, she wondered if she had time for tea, with the tea man. She bit her lower lip in frustration.

On one hand, Toph really wanted to have some tea with the old man. Ever since she first tasted his delectable brew, she had been craving more of his special tea. Plus, she remembered he did give good advice, maybe he could give her some on what to say to Aang when she confessed her feeling's for him.

But on the other hand, it would be sunset in two hours. She didn't know if she could have tea with the old man, and still make it home in time. Toph weighed her options in her head, it was a really difficult choice for her. Toph made her choice.

"Sure" she said happily. "I'd love to have some tea with you". "That's good news, come I'll take you to where I work". He then continued to walk down the crowded streets. Toph began to follow the old tea man, she had to walk at a light jog, fore the old mans strides were much longer than hers. As she followed at the heels of the retired general, the earthbender kept reassuring herself. 'I still have two hours before sunset' she told herself mentally. 'I can stay for a while, and home isn't that far away; I have time' she told herself yet again.

The old man led the young lady through the less crowded parts of the city, taking so many twists and turns she thought she would become dizzy if this kept up. After a while Toph started to wonder if he knew where he was going. But before she could speak up, she felt the man stop in front of a small building.

Toph wondered where the tea man had led her, so she asked him. "Where are we?". "The tea shop where I work" he replied. "You work in a tea shop?" she asked. "Sure do, come on in" he said before entering the shop himself. 'He works at a tea shop' she thought. "Figures" she said to herself before entering the shop herself. She entered the tiny shop to find it completely empty. "Business not going good" she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"The shop is closed today, but I usually come in anyway for a nice cup of tea by myself" he explained. Toph then worried she might be intruding on his personal time. As if reading her thoughts he added, "Though I am glad I have some company today, come take a seat, I'll make us some tea". The blind girl took a seat at one of the little wooden tables, while the tea man journeyed to the back to brew some tea. She waited for him to return.

He returned a short while later with a tray, bearing a tea pot and two cups. He handed Toph her cup, and then poured hot tea into her cup before pouring a cup for himself. The young earthbender could hardly contain herself as she raised the cup to her lips. After blowing over the tea to cool it off, she took a long slow sip. Jasmine.

She held the tea in her mouth for a moment, letting the tea's flavor roll over her tongue; savoring it. She then swallowed the delicious brew letting it's warmth venture down to her stomach, spreading throughout the rest of her body.

"How do you like your tea?" he queried. "It's wonderful" she replied. "I'm glad you like it" he said pleased. "If you like that, remind me to make you my special Gin Sing tea, it's quite the brew" he told her. "I'd like that" she said, "I can't believe it; this is so much better than the tea I make". At those words the old man stopped mid sip, "You make tea?" he asked, interested.

"Well... I try to" she said. The old firebender gasped with joy.

"Ahhh, so you are pursuing the noble art of tea making, that's very admirable".

"I'm not that good though".

"Still, it's good to know that some traditions will be kept alive".

"Actually I just started not too long ago, my tea isn't nearly as good as yours is. My jasmine tea always comes out too bitter, and not matter how long I let my green tea sit, it always comes out to watery".

"Hmmm" he said listening to her tea troubles. "How do you prepare yours?" she asked him. The old man looked as though he were about to cry, as though he had been waiting his whole life for someone to ask him that. "Finally" he exclaimed. "A young person who appreciates the art of tea". Toph was slightly taken back by his exuberant statement, but smiled and took it in stride.

"Ahhh" he said again, reminiscing. "As a matter of fact, I had the same problem when I was first starting out" he told her. "Really?" she asked. "Yes really, you wouldn't believe what happened the first time I tried to make Gin Sing tea by myself", he said trying to contain his laughter. "Tell me the story" the earthbender said, eager to hear another one of his stories.

"If I'm going to tell you this story; I'm going to need some more tea first" he said happily, before filling his cup with fresh tea, and politely refilling Toph's cup. The tea man began to regale Toph with wondrous tales from his youth. He told her tales of funny tea mishaps, of his first love, and many others. All the while, the blind girl listened intently with her sensitive ears, drinking her tea her tea with pleasure.

In addition to telling her great stories, he also gave her tips on how to improve her tea. She listened carefully as he explained mixtures, water temperature, and ingredient to her. Toph was taking mental notes, trying to absorb every word the man said. "And so the key to the perfect cup of jasmine, is to add a pinch of sugar" he said wisely. "Wow" she said. "Thank you for all the great tea advice" she thanked him.

"No trouble at all, I only wish my nephew was as enthusiastic about tea as you are".

"Where is your nephew by the way, I thought he'd be with you?"

"Oh, it's hard to tell, I don't know where he goes, on his days off he just disappears for an hour or two, but he eventually shows up after a while"

"Do you think he's in some kind of trouble?"

"Oh no, I believe he just enjoys the solitude and the time to think, I'm sure he's fine"

"So tell me" he continued. "You look very nice today, is it a special occasion?" he asked. Toph clutched her gift closer to her chest. "Yeah" she said. "Sort of, you see it's my friends birthday today" she explained. "I see" he said sipping his tea, "and is this a special friend?" Toph lowered her head, blushing furiously, embarrassed that her feelings were so obvious. She fidgeted in her seat as she mumbled her answer, "yes".

"And am I right in assuming that bag is for him?" he asked, pointing to the bag she held in her hands. Toph nodded, blushing even harder now. "May I see it?" he asked her politely. Toph nodded and handed the bag to him gently, he gingerly reached inside the bag and pulled out the small bison. Once he saw the small sculpture, he immediately realized who it was for. "That is a nice sculpture, I'm sure your friend will like it" he said as he placed the gift back in the bag, and returned it to her.

He asked her, "So; what's he like this special friend of yours?", curious as to know how the young earthbender fell in love with the young airbender. Toph took another sip of tea and thought for a moment. "Well" she said. "He's very kind; very gentle, and he was the first person to see me as I really am". The old man nodded knowingly. "He's always treated me like an equal, he's sort of like you" she said. "But much younger I hope" he joked.

"But most importantly, I love his heart, he has a way of seeing the beauty in everything; a way of seeing goodness in everyone" she finished. The old general finished his tea, "He must ruly have a big heart to see the beauty and goodness in things" he said. "I can see why you believe he is special". Toph finished her tea as well, "He really is" she said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything. Finally the old tea man spoke. "You too must have a big heart to care so deeply for someone you love". The earthbender sighed.

"The only problem is, I don't think he even notices me".

"So is this why you decided to change your appearance".

"Yes, it's because of the mud that he doesn't notice me, it's because of the mud I couldn't tell him how I felt, and I'm tired of it".

"I'm sure he notices you, I'm sure he's just shy like you".

"No" she said shaking her head. "IT's because of the dirt that he doesn't see me, and I want him to see me; I'm tired of being covered in mud, and I'm tired of being ignored!". By the end of her little speech, she was practically in tears. The old firebender said nothing, but only refilled both their cups with more tea. Once Toph had settled down did he speak. "Listen my dear earthbender, you believe that you must change everything about you, so the one you love will love you?" Toph nodded and took another sip of her tea. "But tell me" he said, "how would you feel if the one you loved, changed everything about themselves".

Toph thought about what the tea man had told her, she would hate it; she never wanted Aang to change. "I wouldn't want him to change" she told him. "But still" she continued. "I need to change if I want him to notice me, if I don't then I'll miss my chance to tell him how I feel. I'm sorry but I have to". The general shook hihs head, she was just as stubborn as his nephew. He knew that no good would come from talking to her, she would have to figure out the truth on her own. He quickly changed the subject.

"Well if that's how you truly feel in your heart, then follow it and I am sure your love will be returned". Toph smiled at the kind old tea man, "Thank you" she said, "for everything".

"It is my pleasure, I hope you'll come visit again sometime; you and your friend are always welcome"

"That sounds great, I'm sure he's love to meet you"

"And I would love to meet him as well"

Toph stood up from her chair. "I have to go now, but I had a really nice time" she bowed to him . The old man stood up from his own chair and walked her to the door"I hope you enjoyed the tea" he said. "I did, and your advice to, thank you tea man" she said happily. "Tea man!" he laughed at his new nick name, it was quite different from 'dragon of the west'. "Oh I'm sorry, I don't know your name, so I've been calling you tea man" she explained. "I see" he chuckled.

"What is your name?" she asked the old man. "My friends call me Mushi" he said and bowed. Toph smiled, "My friends call me Toph" she replied and bowed again. "By the way, I really like your kimono, it looks very lovely on you" he said. "Thank you, the lady told me it was a special kimono" she told him. "I'm sure it is, good luck with your friend, I hope it turns out well" he said. "I hope so too" she turned to leave. The blind girl only took a few steps out the door before she heard, "WAIT!" he called.

Toph stopped and turned to face the man. "You said that you loved his good heart, be sure to tell him that and remember; that you too have a good heart". With that the teas man known as Mushi retreated back into the shop, and gently closed the door. The blind earthbender wiped the tears that had formed in her sightless eyes. "Thank you" she whispered, before she turned and began to walk the familiar route home, where she would await Aang's return. Yet little did she know, that things were about to take a turn for the worst on her walk home.

Toph continued her way home, she would be home in less than an hour. She was so excited she could hardly contain her joy. Today had been so wonderful, and tonight would be too. She was sure that she would remember this day for the rest of her life. But as she walked she noticed something very strange, the once crowded streets were now completely empty. 'Where did everybody go?' she questioned, 'it couldn't be night already'.

Toph faced north again for a time update, but as she waited to feel the suns's ray's, she soon realized she felt none at all. 'This can't be right' she thought. 'There's no way I missed sunset, it can't be dark already, I wasn't with the old man that long'. She stood there, wondering where the sun and all the people had disappeared to.

Toph gasped in horror, as she came to the horrible conclusion. Rain. And no sooner than she realized the horrible truth, that the rumble of thunder was heard in the angry sky. The earthbender looked up in dread, as a single rain drop fell on her cheek. The rain drop was not alone, and was soon followed by millions of others just like it.

Toph ran through the now empty streets as fast as her kimono would allow, the down pour was relentless. She covered her head with her arms trying to shield her face and kimono from the harsh rain. But many droplets still made their way through, causing all her makeup to run. "No, no, no, no" she chanted, as though saying that would somehow make the rain stop.

Unfortunately, Toph was so preoccupied with the relentless shower and the state of her new kimono; that she failed to notice a rock in the middle of the street. Her foot collided painfully with the protruding rock, causing her to trip and fall right into the very thing she had tried to get rid of. Mud.

The earthbender fell face first into the cold dirty mud. The mud splattered not only her face and hair, but also covering her new kimono. Toph spat out the mud that had gotten into her mouth and sat upright on the wet ground. She sat there, in shock at what had just happened. In one fell swoop, her perfect day had been ruined; by mud. She felt around for her bag and found it a few feet away, she reached inside only to find the shattered remains of the small ceramic sky bison.

Tears started to well up in her eyes, "why" she said sadly. "WHY!" she shouted angrily into the sky. She began to sob uncontrollably now, pounding her fists into the mud in rage. All she wanted was to be beautiful for once, to for one day be free from her muddy curse. 'I should have known better, I won't ever be free from this mud' she told herself.

She continued sobbing as she thought of the airbender she loved. "I'm sorry Aang, I just wanted you to notice me; I just wanted you to love me; I sorry" she cried. After her crying had subsided a little, she dragged herself up fro the mud. She was back to where she started, covered in dirt, no gift, and unnoticed. Her crying started up again as she trudged back toward the house. How could she face him now, looking like this, she couldn't bear to think of what he would say.

Twenty minutes later, the heartbroken blind girl arrived at her house, it was way past sunset and the rain had finally stopped. Not that it mattered, she was already soaked to the bone, and her new kimono was still covered in mud. She reached the porch and sat down on the steps as she had done earlier, back when she was still hopeful about today, when she still thought today would turn out okay.

The blind girl sat there on the porch, hugging her knees and sobbing silently in the cold night. She could hear Sokka and Katara singing happy birthday to Aang, which only made her feel worse.

Toph sat there, listening to them sing happy birthday, wishing for just one second she could be with her love, wishing him a happy birthday.

**Chapter 5 finished at 11:54 P.M.**

**Next chapter is the last one so be patient.**


	6. Mud is your color

1Discalimer: I do not own Avatar the last airbender

Chapter 6: Mud is your color

Toph sat shivering on the porch, heartbroken. The night had become very cold, and Toph's wet kimono just made her colder. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there in the dark. Her friends had stopped signing happy birthday some time ago, but the earthbender still dare not go inside.

She tapped her once, and she could still feel her friends vibrations in the living room. So she waited in the freezing cold , waiting for the party to end so she could sneak in unseen. 'How could I be so stupid' she mentally scolded herself, 'How could I think that Aang would love me; who would want some muddy blind girl' she thought miserably.

The earthbender hugged her knees tighter as the temperature continued to drop. Her shivering was worse than ever, and she rubbed her feet to keep blood flowing to her toes, preventing them from freezing. Suddenly Toph longed for the comfort and warmth of her bed, where she could sleep and forget this terrible day. But she knew she couldn't forget Aang, no matter how hard she tried.

If she slept he would be in her dreams, and when she woke up he would be there. The whole situations seemed to taunt the blind girl. The part hadn't ended yet but she could still hear them, thy probably forgot all about her. The earthbender wrestled with the idea of going inside, or staying outside in the cold.

If she went inside, she ran the risk of being seen by them, and the whole situation would be embarrassing. But if But is she stayed out, she would definitely catch a cold; and then she would be sick and miserable. Neither of the scenarios appealed to mer very much. Finally, not being able to endure the cold any longer, Toph decided she would have to risk being caught. The vibrations told her that her two firends and one love were still gathered in the living room.

She would have to be very quiet if she wished to remain undetected. But if she could make it to hallway unseen, she could make it the rest of the way without being seen. Of course if she succeeded, she would have to explain why she didn't come to the party in the morning. She decided she would probably make up some story about feeling sick or something last night, it was a believable story and they wouldn't question it.

This would be hard, but then again this whole day had been hard. Toph stood up from the porch and walked to the door. She placed her hand on the door, and took a deep breath before executing her plan. Toph then placed the other hand on the big wooden door. Toph ever so gently began to push the door open. Her pace was agonizingly slow, she went slow because Toph knew that the door creaked sometimes.

She opened the door just enough for her to slide her body through, then closed it just as slow. So far so good, it looked like none of them noticed her; 'just like always' she thought bitterly. Now all she needed to do was make it to the hall, and she'd be home free. The earthbender tip toed as quietly as she could. Careful not to make a sound that could alert her friends to her presence. Toph kept quiet as she crept closer and closer to hallway, another few feet and she would be out of view. But as quiet as she was, her presence was still detected by one friend.

Just as she was about to take the last step into the hall, she suddenly felt her presence had been noticed. Momo stood at the earthbender's feet, chittering loudly. "Momo, Shhh!" Toph whispered, but he only chittered louder. "No Momo, I can't feed you now, go away" she whispered a little louder. Ignoring her words, the lemur leapt onto her head, wanting to play. The blind girl wrestled the flying monkey off her head. However the the lemur kept slipping through her fingers. As Toph wrestled with the lemur on her head, she was obliviious that the struggle with the monkey had caught the attention of some people.

Just as she had succeeded in removing Momo from her head, did she hear. "Toph?"; she quickly turned around at the sound of Aang's voice. The blind bandit soon realized that they were all staring at her. She then remembered what she must look like, dirty and a mess. The blind bender just stood there, silent and dazed at the embarrassing situation she was caught in. Toph suddenly wished she had stayed outside and frozen to death instead.

"Toph?" she heard again, this time from Katara. As she stood there she couldn't help but think, 'This is so unfair; of all the times for him to notice me, why now?, why like this?'. Her tears returned with renewed sorrow. Toph burst into tears right on the spot.

Throwing the bag down, Toph ran down the hall, she then proceeded to run to her room. Not even bothering to change her clothes, the young bender threw herself on her futon and cried her eyes out on her pillow.

Just as the flow of tears stopped, Toph heard a knocking at her door. "GO AWAY!" she shouted, not even bothering to check their vibrations. "Toph; it's me Katara" she said softly, "can I come in?". "I don't care" she said harshly. Katara gently slid the door open, despite Toph's outburst, Katara knew she needed a friend right now. She kneeled down to where her earthbending friend laid, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Toph, everything's going to be okay" she told her patting her back trying to soothe her friend. "No" she said miserably, "It's not". "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, "you know I always listen" Katara said kindly. Without warning, Toph flew into the waterbenders arms, the tears began to flow once more.

"K-Ka- Katara" she sobbed, "It's awful" she cried, her tears soaking Katara's shoulder. "Shhh, Shhh, it's okay" she cooed; Toph continued to let the tears fall as she vented her sorrows to the water tribe girl. "I just wanted to be pretty" she told her still crying, "I just wanted to be noticed". "Toph; believe me you are pretty, your beautiful in fact" she informed her. "And believe me; ever since you joined our group, it's been nothing but fun" she told Toph.

"And I believe it's because of you we're able to have so much fun, you bring fun and laughter to our family; it can't be easy considering our lives right now, I really admire that about you Toph; we all do" she finished. Toph sniffled a little, "Really?" she asked. "Yes" the waterbender said firmly, Toph wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks Katara, I needed to hear that" she told her. "Any time Toph, you're an important person to me, to all of us". "I'm glad you're my friend Katara", "Same here" Katara replied.

"But still; no matter how hard I try, as long as this mud still here I suppose that no one will ever love me" Toph said sadly. "Don't say that it's not true" Katara told her, "Listen... I know how you feel about Aang" "What!, how do you know?" she practically yelled. "I have eyes to you know" the older girl said simply. Toph could feel herself turn red as she heard Katara's words, she looked at the floor.

Katara continued, "I don't know how Aang feels about you, but I do know this, you are a wonderful person, and Aang would be lucky be lucky to have someone like you; and that is the truth" she finished. The earthbender sighed, maybe Katara was right, the again maybe she was wrong, Toph just didn't know anymore.

As she thought about her words, Toph heard another knock at her door. The blind earthbender panicked when she recognized whose vibrations were at the door. "Toph, can I come in?" she heard Aang say.

The blind girl sat rooted to the floor unable to move, she just clutched her pillow tighter. Katara however tood up and opened the door for him, "Hey Katara, can I talk to Toph?" he asked quietly. "Sure Aang, I'll leave you two alone" the waterbender left the room and closed the door behind her.

Aang sat down in front of Toph, he placed a piece of birthday cake in front of her as well, she still did nothing. An awkward silence filled the room, growing more unbearable with each passing second. Finally, the airbender decided to break the silence and say something, "I, uh... really like my gift" he said. Was he making fun of her, the bison was smashed to pieces; suddenly all her sadness turned to anger. "Very funny!" she snapped, "Don't lie, the gift was destroyed, thanks for reminding me".

Aang up his hands in defense, "I was talking about your other gift" he told her. "What other gift?" she asked, wondering what the monk was talking about. "The coupon" he said pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.

"For the free cup of tea, I found it in the bag, I really like it a lot" Aang said. Toph wondered how such a thing got inside her gift bag, when she remembered her encounter with the tea man Mushi. He had asked to see the gift, and she handed him the bag; he must of slipped it in without her noticing. 'Thank you, tea man' she thought.

Toph took a deep breath, she needed to tell Aang now regardless of all the mud. She needed to tell him even though she was sure he would never love her back.

"Aang there's something I want to tell you, so please listen, okay?"

"Of course Toph"

"You see Aang, I know you don't notice me; but I notice you and I really admire all the nice things you do, and your good heart"

"Actually Toph I..."

"And for your birthday I wanted to look nice for you, and do something nice for you , but I can't even do that right"

"Listen Toph I..."

"The truth is I was really tired of you not noticing me, so I tried to get rid of all the mud and so you would finally notice me, so you would like me better"

"Toph..."

"But I know now that you will never see me the way I see you, and that you couldn't so long as I was covered in mud. I just wanted you to know how special I think you are"

"Toph..."

"I love you Aang!, I love you, I just wanted you to know that. Even though I know you could never love some ugly muddy blind girl I"

"TOPH!" he shouted not wanting to be interrupted again. The earthbender stopped talking at the airbenders outburst, she lowered her head thinking he was mad at her.

But soon she felt his hand gently lift her chin so she was looking at him. She waited for him to do something when she heard him say. "Toph; mud is your color" he said before he brought his lips to hers in a passionate and romantic kiss, mud and all.

Once Aang had finally released her lips, Toph sat there stunned. Finally after she recovered enough from the kiss to speak, she could only say one thing "Aang" she said still in shock from the kiss. "Surprised?" the monk asked. "B- But I thought...". "You thought wrong Toph, I have always noticed you, and I've always loved you since the day we met" he tod her wiping some mud from her cheek with his thumb.

"I love everything about you" he continued, "Your eyes, your heart, and even your mud, don't ever change Toph". "Wait a minute" Toph said, "you've loved me this entire time?" she asked. "Yes" he answered. "And you didn't tell me; you!" she shouted , sounding like her old self, ignoring the fact she was just as cowardly about telling him about her feelings.

Aang laughed a little, "To tell you the truth I was going to tell you tonight, but you never showed up" he said. Toph sighed, "Well, that doesn't matter now" she said, as she drew her love into a warm embrace; she rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "Happy birthday Aang, I love you" she said. "I love you too Toph" he replied.

"I still wish I could give you something for your birthday" the blind girl said. "Toph, I have everything I want right here" he said as he held her tighter. Toph was still covered in mud, but she didn't care. She was happy, she loved Aang and he loved her, she was truly happy in her loves arms.

They pulled apart and they kissed; they kissed with all the love and passion they could give each other; which was all of it.

THE END

**The final chapter finished at 9:48 P.M.**

**I hope you enjoyed my story, I might do a sequel or a spin off.**


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